Chapter 6: What the? ANOTHER obstacle?

They walked for about a minute. Naruto squinted his eyes slightly, then he stopped walking. Sakura turned to him in question. Naruto pointed ahead of him. Lying against a rock, was none other Uchiha Sasuke.
Sakura put her hand over her mouth. She stared wide-eyed at the raven haired boy before them. Sasuke´s clothes were ripped and he had numerous cuts and wounds all over his body.
His left arm and right leg were twisted in odd directions. It didn´t take a genius to figure out that they were broken. Naruto´s blue eyes scanned the dark haired boy some more. He sighed in relief. The Cursed Seal had retreated into the small mark on Sasuke´s neck. His hair was coal black once again.

"Sasuke...!" Sakura managed to stutter.

Even though she had gotten over her crush for him, she still cared immensively for him. Naruto put his hand on her forehead and smiled sadly at her. Sakura wondered what he was trying to say.

"Look, Sakura-chan...I didn´t want to resort to this, but I had no other choice. I had to knock him out. I´m sorry for hurting Sasuke, but I really had no other choice. I´m sorry Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

Sakura looked back at Sasuke. She blinked, then she smiled dryly.

"I understand." Sakura managed to get out.

Naruto limped up to Sasuke and bent down. He grabbed the boy and with a grunt of effort, threw him over his shoulder. Naruto didn´t really have anymore strength to give, but he was determined to bring Sasuke back to the village. Even if he would have to carry him all the way there.

"Naruto, take it easy. You´re all worn out. Here, let me help you with Sasuke." Sakura said.

Naruto smiled softly and shook his head at this.

"I´m a man of my word, Sakura-chan. I promised you that I would get him back for you, and that´s what I´m gonna do!" Naruto said.

Sakura smiled and nodded. She remained ready to help him at anytime as they began walking though.

A pack of birds flew away from the branch they had been sitting on in a collective rush. The object wich had caused this rush, landed on that very branch a second later. The brown haired young woman looked around.
She couldn´t see or hear anyone. She sighed. (This is turning into a pretty ugly mess. Well, I´ve been in ugly situations before and I have always managed to pull through. With the help of Tsunade-sama of course. Sasuke-kun...why did you have to leave? Damn that Orochimaru! This is all his fault! Alright Shizune, calm down. Being mad at this point isn´t going to change anything. Not for the better that is. At least Genma and the others will be safe back in Konoha. Tsunade-sama will cure those nasty injuries in no time. Well, I´ll better get going! Naruto-kun and the others will surely need my help!)
The woman thought. Shizune then blurred away. She continued forward at top speed while following the few traces left behind by either the Sound ninjas or Shikamaru´s team.

Naruto took a few staggering steps, then he fell to his knees. Sakura gasped and kneeled beside him.

"Naruto! Are you allright? Naruto!" Sakura asked.

Naruto panted and beads of sweat covered his face. He let go off Sasuke and fell against a tree.

"Yeah...it´s just that...my Chakra got reduced to...zero...in the fight, so...I´m a little short on energy right now." Naruto said.

Sakura looked at him with worry etched all over her face.

"You´ve done more than enough already, Naruto. You´ve carried Sasuke-kun two kilometers already. The village is too far away for you to carry him. We´ll rest here for a while, then I will carry Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, determined.

Naruto smiled slightly at her. He knew that it was useless to argue with Sakura once she had made up her mind.

"Hey, Sakura-chan? Do you think it´s safe to take a nap for a few minutes? It would really help me recover my Chakra." Naruto said.

Sakura smiled warmly at him and nodded.

"Go ahead. I´ll stand guard just in case." Sakura said.

Naruto nodded, then he slipped off. Sakura reached over and gently pulled Sasuke over to the tree before her and sat him up. Then she turned around and spread her legs out on the ground. (This reminds me of the Chuunin Exam. It´s the exact same thing. Except for a few things. Like Sasuke-kun not having a fever, and Naruto isn´t knocked out.
Well, knocked out is the same thing as asleep right? Heh, well whatever. It doesn´t matter. What matters is that we will go back to Konoha with Sasuke-kun. Then we will make him understand, all of us.) Sakura thought. Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a loud snore. Sakura turned and smiled. Naruto was already sleeping like a baby. Sakura smiled at him, then she turned to the sky.

A purple clad ninja swooshed through the forest. His coal black eyes darted from side to side. He was looking for something. Something rather important. (If I don´t find and bring him back with me, then he won´t be forgiving!) The ninja thought. He sped up his pace and hurried onward.

Sakura jumped as the snapping of a twig broke the silence. Sakura immediately pulled out a kunai and stood up. It had only passed 7 minutes. Her apple-coloured eyes darted from side to side quickly.
Another twig snapped, this time closer. Sakura started sweating. How many were there? Three? Five? Or was it seven even? Sakura didn´t know. She backed a little bit.

"Naruto! Naruto, wake up!" Sakura hissed through clenched teeth.

Konoha´s Loudest and most Surprising Number One Ninja twitched. Naruto opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto muttered.

Then his eyes snapped wide open. He remembered everything that had happened so far and all their battles.
Naruto then saw the kunai in Sakura´s hand. He quickly concluded that something was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed, when something rustled the leaves above them. Naruto stood up quickly, his head darting from side to side.

"Naruto! Get ready! There´s someone here!" Sakura hissed.

Naruto nodded and whipped up two kunai´s, one in each hand. He stepped up beside Sakura and gave her a small smile.

"Don´t worry, Sakura-chan. Whoever it is, I´ll be sure to kick his or her butt!" Naruto said with the usuall cocky grin.

"Don´t use Shadow Replication, Naruto. Your Chakra is low as it is!" Sakura wisphered.

Naruto nodded back at her. He knew that already. Naruto felt that his Chakra had recovered somewhat with his short rest, but it wasn´t nearly enough to support his usuall amount of Shadow Replication! Naruto´s blue eyes darted back and forth, trying to spot their enemy.

Then, their enemy decided to make himself known. The leaves above them parted and a ninja fell through. He landed softly before them. His silver coloured hair was tied back in a ponytail. His round glasses gleamed in the sunlight. The ninja´s purple outfit somehow fit quite nicely with the whole picture. Naruto´s eyes widened in shock and so did Sakura´s.

"Kabuto-san!" They both yelled at once.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses and smiled evily. He raised his head and looked at them. His eyes traveled to the knocked out boy lying behind the two Konoha ninjas. Kabuto frowned slightly.
(So Sasuke-kun was really beaten, even though his Cursed Seal was enhanced to Level 2. Heh, it must have been Naruto-kun. With the Kyuubi in his stomach, he´s the only one who could have done it.) Kabuto thought.
Naruto´s shocked expression turned to anger. He took a quick breath before pointing at the Sound spy.

"How dare you show yourself to me, after all you´ve done! Isn´t being a Sound spy enough already?" Naruto yelled.

Sakura stared at Kabuto´s forehead protector. (I can´t believe it! K, Kabuto-san i, is a...a Sound ninja! He, he betrayed Konoha? T, that´s insane!) Sakura thought. A cold chill ran down her spine as she turned. (If we don´t bring Sasuke-kun back to Konoha and make him understand, then he might betray Konoha too! All because of that damned Orochimaru!) Sakura thought. The raven haired Uchiha lay motionless against the tree.
Kabuto took a step forward. This earned him the full attention of the Konoha ninjas.

"Ah, Naruto-kun and Sakura-san. It´s been a long time." Kabuto said.

He smiled evily at them.

"Not long enough, apparently!" Naruto spat.

Sakura took a step forward.

"K, Kabuto-san? Are you really a Sound spy? Did you really betray Konoha?" Sakura asked.

The facts were all pointing in that direction, but she had to hear it from Kabuto himself.

"I betrayed Konoha a long time ago." Kabuto stated.

The evil grin disappeared for a split second as he said this. Then it returned full force. Naruto growled and raised his weapons. Now it was time to fight.

"What do you want with us, you damn traitor!" Naruto yelled.

"I was ordered by Orochimaru-sama to bring Sasuke-kun to him, since everyone else we sent out failed. So either you two move out of the way, or I force myself past you." Kabuto said.

He whipped out a kunai from out of nowhere and sunk down into a fighting stance. Naruto took a step back in preparation.

"Bring Sasuke to Orochimaru? Over my dead body!" Naruto yelled.

In a flash, Kabuto zipped forward and smashed his fist into Naruto´s chest! The blonde Genin coughed up saliva and flew back. He crashed into the tree next to Sasuke. Kabuto grinned and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura-san, you´re a smart girl right? Put that thing away and move out of my way. Unless you want to end up worse than Sasuke-kun." Kabuto said coldly.

Sakura clenched her teeth and remained where she was. She wasn´t a strong ninja, but she wasn´t one to be messed with.

"Kabuto-san! I won´t let you take Sasuke!" Sakura said.

Kabuto sighed and shook his head.

"I really thought that you were a smart girl, Sakura-san. Well, guess I was wrong." Kabuto said and pushed up his glasses.

He zipped forward and pulled back his fist. Sakura didn´t have time to react as Kabuto moved faster than she could follow.

"SHADOW REPLICATION TECHNIQUE!"

Kabuto´s fist froze a mere inch from Sakura´s face. They both turned their heads and saw Naruto standing up again. Said Genin looked over at his two identical twins and roared.

"CHARGE!" He yelled.

The three Naruto´s then zipped forward. Kabuto humphed and leapt away from Sakura to meet them head on. The pink haired ninja ran after him.

"Naruto! I thought I told you NOT to use the Shadow Replication!" Sakura yelled, knowing full well that no one would hear her.

One of the Naruto´s leapt at Kabuto and pulled back a fist. Kabuto jerked his kunai upwards and into orange fabric. The blonde boy turned into smoke and disappeared. Just as Kabuto lowered his gaze from the sky and looked around for his other opponents, a smaller hand came up and grabbed his own. Kabuto´s eyes widened.
Naruto stood before him, holding the hand with the kunai in it firmly. His clone stood beside him. Naruto grinned almost sadistically at him. He stuck out his hand to the side and his clone immediately started moving it´s hands rapidly over it.
A spinning blue ball of Chakra formed in Naruto´s palm. Without the Kyuubi Chakra to aid him, Naruto had to use one of his Shadow Replications to perform the attack. Kabuto stared at it as if bewitched. (It´s just the same as before! The same position and the same technique! This is bad! I can´t let myself get hit by that, or else...) Kabuto thought.
Naruto´s clone turned into smoke as the Chakra ball was completed. The real Naruto grinned at Kabuto in much the same way as the Sound ninja had done earlier. Naruto pulled back his right arm.

"Take this! RASENGAN!" Naruto cried.

He brought the Chakra ball forward with all the force he could muster! Sakura stopped running and stared.

"What the? That technique...! It´s the one Naruto used when we were helping Idate!" Sakura exclaimed.

Kabuto stared at the oncoming ball in fear for a second, then the sadistic grin returned. Kabuto pulled his captive arm backwards while using his free arm to knock Naruto´s hand away from it. Then he jumped into the air and delivered a swift spinning kick. Naruto was hit full force in the chin and he flew back. His Rasengan fell out of his hand and promptly dissolved. Naruto slid along the ground and came to a full stop after a few meters. Kabuto grinned at him.

"That was a pretty good try, Naruto-kun. But I´m afraid that the same trick won´t work on me twice! You´re going to have to be more creative than that to beat me this time around!" Kabuto said.

Naruto opened his eyes and glared at the Sound ninja.


This time, I remembered! Good for me! Ahem! Well! That was a good chapter, don't you think? Let's get on with the next one!